Colors
by Kori Tetsugaia
Summary: What are your true colors? Do you know? Or is it lost to a grayscale forever?


**Colors**

**

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MIRAA ga utsushidasu maboroshi wo ki ni shinagara  
****Itsu no ma ni ka sokudo ageteru no sa  
****Doko e ittemo ii to iwareru to  
****Hanpa na ganbou ni wa hyoushiki mo zenbu haiiro da **

**The mirror reflects the illusion of a spirit  
****Unnoticed, it picks up speed  
****It is said that it's okay to go anywhere  
****A broken wish makes everything all gray...**

Teruun Gishin was an artist prodigy, with short, sandy blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a slim figure. Everyone in the school knew that, as often times they were called to an assembly to witness his art in galleries. However… some people who were jealous of his ability to draw, to paint, to sketch so perfectly. So jealous, in fact, that they even made fun of his art, even though it was nothing to made fun of. And they were the most popular kids in school. Often times, they would collect Squishy Liquids from Slimes that dotted their school, and were stupid enough to throw the green, thick, sticky liquid at his art on display. Sometimes they were ruined, sometimes they could be saved. But those pathetic people were only driven by one thing: envy.

That is… until _she_ came. Thin and beautiful, wearing gray, dark clothes, with long dark brown hair, almost black, and stunning jade-green eyes; she struck the school by surprise. Especially Teruun. He was so captivated by her… and he did not fall for girls easily. It was because of her artistic talent that matched his. She painted beautiful, thoughtful pictures like him… but hers were devoid of color. There was never any color in her artworks… unlike Teruun's, which were always splashed and dotted with all kinds of colors, and different shades of it as well. Her art was always in shades of gray. And her name was Rae Everstone.

When they first met, it was like a spark of relation that lighted the artist's flame within them. They always spent time with each other, always sharing ideas, and slowly, everyone in the school began to talk about them as if they were both one person. It was momentous. Until, of course, the day when everything was different.

**Kono yurameki koyoi no yume wo egaku  
****Anata no fudesaki kawaite imasen ka**

**Tonight, a flame flickers and you draw your dream  
****Isn't the tip of your brush thirsty?**

On a Friday, the day before the two-week break from school, Rae had taken Teruun and dragged him with her to the top of a cliff.

"Come on, come on! It's not too far away," she would say, tugging and pulling on his hand to make him go faster. When they both reached the top, they both sat down and caught their breath. But when Teruun looked out beyond the grassy cliff top, he saw something he would never forget.

The rock face seemed to overlook the whole of Victoria Island, and the view was absolutely stunning. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the faint bluish streaks of rivers glinted softly in the fading light. There were lush, thick forests congregated in the more eastern side of the island, and he could see few peaceful Slimes and harmless Snails peering at the quickly-fading sun as if to say, "Goodbye! Goodbye! See you in the morning." Teruun felt a million ideas for painting images fly into his head, but when he turned around, he saw Rae setting up something from behind a tall wizened tree.

"Rae," he called, "what's that you're doing there?"

"Just a moment!" she called back, and soon, from behind said tree, she pulled out a large wooden stand, and a long piece of thick paper, long enough to cover the whole stand. She set the stand on flat ground, and presented a thin, slender paintbrush to him. Some actual paints and water were set nearby as well.

"I've brought us these… to paint with. We can do it, together. Just paint what your imagination tells you to…" she whispered gently, and turned to the stand. She dipped her brush into a jar of water, and swished the brush again in a small oval of dark gray. Then, she began to paint, starting with a sweep across the page. Teruun stood there for a moment, watching her. Then, following her example, he stood up to it, dipped his brush in some bright color, and started to paint as well, his imagination taking over his actions, and his action spoke louder than any word he could have spoken.

The sun had long since faded when they finally stopped painting. Instead, the moon shone before them, illuminating them in its softly harsh glow. Moonlight reflected off their skin, showing them to be whiter than they really were. But they didn't care. All they _did_ care about, however, was the magnificently blended picture before them.

The image portrayed Rae and Teruun standing together in perfect harmony. Rae's clothing and skin were brushed in the deepest and loveliest shades of pristine color, and Teruun was painted out of shades of dull-yet-expressful gray. The two stood together, under a rainbow painted from shadowy grays to a variety of gorgeous colors.

**Aoi sora ga mienu nara aoi kasa hirogete  
****Ii ja nai ka KYANBASU wa kimi no mono  
****Shiroi hata wa akirameta toki ni dake kazasu no  
****Ima wa makka ni sasou tougyuushi no you ni**

**If there's no blue sky, unfold your blue umbrella  
****Isn't that good? The canvas is all yours  
****That time that I gave up, I only held a white flag over my head  
****Now it's a deep red, like it's inviting the matador...**

"It's beautiful," Rae breathed. Teruun only could nod in complete silence.

Suddenly, they were aware of a dark, black-gray cloud concealing the moon behind its gloomy cover. More and more of these same clouds began to gather, until the whole sky was full of them. There was a sharp crack of lightning, and a deep, booming roll of thunder. A wet drop fell on Teruun's hand, and then another. Soon, they both realized that a storm was coming. Rae shot forward and rolled up the painting, slipping the paper securely into her pack. Propping up the wooden stand against a tree, where it would be safe, more droplets of water fell from the sky.

_The sky is crying…_

Rae then realized she had no umbrella, and would risk being soaked with water on her way home. Teruun came up from behind her and pulled out a sky-blue umbrella from his pack, which he opened with a flourish. He gave her a sweet smile, and Rae blushed deeply, pressing in closer to him as the rain increased in force. They walked together, hand in hand, down the steps, back to home. Their home.

**KARAA mo iroaseru keikoutou no moto  
****Shirokuro no CHESUBOODO no ue de kimi ni deatta  
****Bokura wa hitotoki mayoinagara yorisotte  
****Arekara hitotsuki oboete imasu ka**

**A fluorescent light in which all colors are faded  
****On top of a black and white chessboard, I met you  
****In such a short time we grew close  
****Do you remember one month from then?**

As they entered the apartment they both shared, Teruun spun the umbrella three times, shaking off all of the leftover water. Meanwhile, Rae opened up her pack and spread out the mural of the two together again. She stared intently at it, until she finally began to notice something welling up in her eyes.

_Wh… what is this?_

She brought her hands to her face, and tried to stop the tears by rubbing her eyes, but only more ran out and dripped onto a white sheet of paper she had left on the floor. Her eyes widening, she saw a thin cloud of light _gray_ spread through the sheet of paper, until it had almost covered the whole page besides the corners.

… _even my tears are colorless. The same grayscale I have been forced to live with for so long… finally, I am **becoming**._

By now, Teruun had finished drying out the umbrella, and had heard sniffling noises from the living room, where Rae was. The noises made him think, but when he saw her crying, he was genuinely worried.

**ORENJI iro no yuuhi wo tonari de miteru dake de  
****Yokatta noni na kuchi wa wazawai no moto  
****Kuroi fuku wa shisha ni inoru toki ni dake kiru no  
****Wazato makka ni nokoshita RUUJUU no ato**

**It was good to just watch the setting sun and the orange sky with you  
****Even though, an opening is the origin of disaster  
****The times that we pray for the dead, we wear black clothes  
****A rouge footprint purposely leaves behind a deep red color.**

"Rae… Rae, what's wrong?" he asked soothingly, kneeling down to talk to her. "C'mon, Rae, tell me."

"Teruun," she whispered through her tears, "I am finally becoming." Teruun was confused.

"Becoming?" he repeated. "Becoming what?" For a moment, Rae was completely silent. Then…

"… colorless." she said softly. "I am becoming colorless. My tears are gray…" Suddenly, Teruun saw it. Her clothes were beginning to fade in color… and they were fading fast. Her once brilliantly green eyes now shone dully with the darkest gray there was, and her skin was turning ashen and pale.

"I cannot be with you anymore, Teruun," she whimpered, curling into a small ball on the floor. Her vibrant brown hair was turning into a flat black, and fanned out behind her, falling gently on the floor. Teruun felt tears run from his eyes, wishing he could do something, but Rae had begun to fade.

The fading had even gone so far as to begin to turn her clothes black. Rae was dying, and he knew there was _nothing_ he could do.

"Rae… Rae… I… I love you," he choked, hugging her limp and almost lifeless body close to his.

"I love… you…" Rae croaked softly, as she took her last breath right then and there, with Teruun quietly sobbing as he mourned over his lost love.

That day, a part of Teruun died, and even though he still continued to draw, to paint, to sketch, it was forever in brightly dull grayscale. Always, always… just like Rae.

_I don't know my true colors anymore._

**Mou jibun ni wa yume no nai e shika kakenai to iu nara  
****Nuritsubushite yo KYANBASU wo nando demo  
****Shiroi hata wa akirameta toki ni dake kazasu no  
****Ima no watashi wa anata no shiranai iro  
****  
If you say to yourself...  
****"You can draw only the pictures that don't have dreams"  
****Keep drawing on that canvas  
****That time that I gave up, I only held a white flag over my head  
****Now, you don't know my true colors.**

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Okay. This story was inspired by "Colors", a Japanese song from Utada Hikaru. She's awesome. :D 

Anyways, this is like… Japanese lyrics combined with English lyrics. It goes like the first section in the bold is the Japanese part, and the bottom bold part is the translated part. I hope you get that n.n

Till next time,  
_Kori Tetsugaia_


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